Eclectic Ellapu has a new June Challenge for the Purple Team - Weddings!

Do you know about Eclectic Ellapu? Elaine,the boss lady has two teams - pink and purple - and each one has a different theme, although occasionally we all play together. This month the team I am in (purple) has a theme of

WEDDINGS!

(It is June, after all)

I know, it's winter here - but winter weddings can be pretty spectacular as well

I had planned to do an extravagant multi-media thing, but you know what has been happening in my life lately, so I decided to do something a bit simpler and make a card (boring, I know)

I went to Pinterest for inspiration, and ended up combining several - about three actually - ideas into one card - sounds simple, right? Wrong of course - once I began to construct this I discovered it was not as easily as I had envisaged (of course) and it took me quite a time to get all the bits together. In saying that, it was quite fun to do so that is the main thing!

I started with a heart die cut out of some pretty embossed white card; and some doilies

It took me about 30 minutes to get the skirts even remotely right -suffice to say this is my version of the one I saw. Ribbon sash, pearls and some bling finished off the dress.

The tuxedo was quite easy to make and I took it slowly and thought before I made each piece so it worked out quite well. Even the little black ribbon bow tie (recycled clothing ribbon) worked as I wanted it to - amazing!

The base card is from SU of course - craft with glitterly silver stripes on one side and red triangles/hearts on the other

A flower - sparkly - and another bit of bling

Inside I had another swathe of bling, and stamped a sentiment from Suite of Sayings

The dress is very frou-frou of course - not at all the kind I would wear myself

It was hard to photograph as it would not sit nicely but you get the idea

It will fold flat for posting

So, let me and the other teamies at Eclectic Ellapu - Purple Team see your wedding card. You have a month to create!

I am entering this in the Bizzy Bec's June Challenge: anything goes

Didn't Froget this time!

Today is the day for a new challenge over at Crafting with Dragonflies, and for the first time in what seems like months, I have managed to get something made in time!

I am a Stampin' Up demonstrator - pretty slack one really - but the other day I got not only my latest order from the new catalogue (due out next month) but my badge for being a demo for 5 years! Nice.

This card comes from a Hostess set available in the newest catalogue  called Love you Lots, and is inspired by another demonstrator BJ Peters. I was going to use the new colours but realized I had no DP or ribbon yet in them, so fell back onto some older inks and DP - Pretty Petals - and some washi tape from long ago.

My heart punch came in useful as well, and I water coloured the frog using the inkpad and a water brush. My base card is whisper white and so not that good at taking watercolour paint, but for such a small area it was OK 

A bit of ribbon in a bow

The background is Pacific Point

Simple but effective. 

You have a fortnight to enter your card - always a card - using an animal in the images somewhere. 

Challenge #57: Creative Upcycling at Unstampabelles - final week

Yep,it is the final week to enter the challenge at Unstampabelles

The theme is 

Creative Upcycling

This means that you are to recycle something creatively - that is use something you would normally throw away in a creative way - not just to use materials that are old. 

TWIST use something you have had in your craft room for a year or more

There is a prize - with an extra surprise thrown in

Mine for this week is another toilet roll project

I followed a tutorial by the Craftaholic Witch and can assure you, her's is much better than mine!

I worked with a normal roll but would think of using a stronger roll such as a kitchen roll of paper as the toilet roll was a bit flimsy. She gives no size instructions but I went with halving the roll, and then taking a 2 cm off the end of one. These smaller two were the main bits for the box.

Next you cut two circles for a lid. Now, my tutor told me that I had to glue them carefully to the end of each cut roll. Not so easy to do. I ended up using a circle of paper inside slightly larger than the roll, and glueing that to the lid and the inside of the roll and even then it was not that stable. Perhaps strips across the lid first, and then glued inside .......

Anyway, I just ran glue around the edge and tried to get them to stick.

Then you take a strip of card (mine was about 4.5 cm wide and enough to make the inner circle of the roll. This becomes the inside of the box, and creates the lip for the top to sit on. 

Once it is constructed, you decorate it.

My red flower is well over a year old, and so are the red buttons.

The ribbon around the base is also recycled from a flower arrangement 

It is cute - I am currently waiting for all the glue to dry though to see if it is sturdier.

A good little gift box for a small gift - suitable for jewelry or for a silk item (?) if squashed.

It took me about 3 hours of fiddling (plus dealing with hubbies constant interruptions) to make. 

You can go to Unstampabelles and see what else is there to inspire you before entering your own work.

How Bad am I??????

It was a new challenge at Crafting with Dragonflies, where I am suppose to be a Design Team Member, but I got so caught up in looking after the husband after his hip operation, I didn't get my contribution made or up on time! I can only hope that Hilde has a very forgiving nature.........(hint).

The theme is (was) Congratulations!

My card is suitable for a wedding, birthday or anniversary celebration

Yes, I have a new Spellbinders die set - Art deco - and I tried it out with another set making the gold bits - Imperial Gold. This last set has sat in my stash for quite a while and hardly been used because it does not cut out the shape, only embosses it and I had forgotten this fact when I when I went to use it. I had to carefully snip around the outside the detach the bits of gold card I didn't want seen!

All SU card and embellies except the card blank (Regal Press) 

Please enter the challenge at 

Crafting with Dragonflies

You still have 9 days to go

Boxes of Washi tape......

Well, really there is one box but it is huge!

I think they multiply when the lid is on and it is dark.....

Anyway, what to do with them......

I needed to make something for the Unstampabelles midway post too

for Challenge #57 - Creative Upcycling

with the twist of using something oldish from your stash!

Pinterest gave me an idea, and I ran with it

The one I saw had tissue paper on it, but when I went to use that it tore all the time, so even though I did glue some pink tissue to my little memo, I eventually had to cover it up with tape

The book cost me $1.85: it is one of three I got over 2 years ago from a throw-out bin at Big W

The cardboard cover was free packaging with an order - my recycling bit

The ribbon was also a freebie from a magazine, but it was not good quality and shredded a bit

I stitched the ribbon through the spine of the cover and the tissue paper, but when I put it on the memo, I put it upside down so my pages are upside down now - I was working in a hurry.......

Halfway through putting the washi tapes onto the cover - you can see the tissue paper clearly here

But it tore so I had to cover it over with tape

I tried just a ribbon bow to hold the booklet together but it was not that successful (too much pressure), so I added a bulldog clip

I added some beads to the ribbon to make a page marker, knotting the ends to keep the beads in place. 

I think I would need to plan this out better in future if I was to make another one but for the time being it will be OK for my handbag to make and keep notes as needed.

Why not try to upcycle something yourself and enter it at 

Unstampabelles Challenge#57

Upcycling with Unstampabelles - Week two!

Happy Mother's Day to everyone - hope you had a good time on Sunday and got spoiled!

Today I am showing you how I made this mini album for Challenge #57 at Unstampabelles

Creative Upcycling

TWIST use something you have had in your craft room for a year or more

Do you belong to Split Coast Stampers?

I discovered them many a long year ago and they have saved me on many occasions too

Last year I read an article in a magazine about making a mini album from the empty toilet roll tubes, and became interested in them. I began to collect some rolls and my hubby wanted to know what for, so I explained the thinking behind my hoarding and he offered to assist by putting my collected rolls in the vice and squashing them for me. 

I had collected 6 and then got distracted by other things and they sat on my desk for a long time - in fact, when I went looking for them I had to dig quite heavily into the pile of stuff to find them again!

Last week on Split Coast Stampers they had a tutorial on making the album, prepared by Areli Johnson, which reignited my desire to make one, so I followed her tutorial to make my first album. Areli stamped her background, but I cheated and used my DP from SU for the Botanical's set instead.

The first thing to do after collecting (and squashing) the rolls is to paint them

Mine are painted white

Then squash one end and glue it together - I used double-sided tape

I followed the tutorial and covered the tubes with the DP, thus decorating each one

I also used the Crop-a-dile to set an eyelet into the closed end of the toilet paper roll. 

My old thing (for the twist) can be either the eyelets or the slbum ring - 

they are all well over a year old!

I cut out six tags to go inside the six rolls, and added a bit of extra card to each side of these, while using my SU tag punch to create a decorated top for each tag. They are meant to stick out of the roll for ease of removing - I did three in each alternative colour to match the DP.

Pool Party and Hello Honey

I added some decoration also to the front one - again using the dies from SU Botanicals set

The ribbons are from the stash

This is the prize being offered for this months challenge

Feeling inspired?

Go here to enter the challenge!

Upcycling with a Purpose!

It is time for Challenge #57 at Unstampabelles

 Creative Upcycling 

TWIST use something you have had in your craft room for a year or more

Prize is a word die plus an additional gift of 4 metal girls with balloons.

Your older item can be adorning the  upcycled item or it can be the item!

I started with a small rectangular cardboard box that had contained 

a small bottle of Tasmanian Whiskey

It is about 13 cm tall and about 2 cm square

I also had a piece of hessian with gold stripes that came in some packaging and has been laying around for quite a while on my desk waiting to be used

I have had the Indigo Blue Mega Flakes for over a year now, and have avoided using them - mainly because I could not see how to use them effectively

I took the box apart and coated it with glue - but I didn't use enough glue or cover it completely or something, because I got a mixed coverage.  I add more glue and pressed on some more of the flakes and then decided I liked the result so stopped - you can still see the figures but the writing has been obscured enough to hide what it was actually used for before the transformation.

I patted the flakes on and then used a tissue to burnish over the whole to lift all the smallish bits

It still has some sticking up but the extra texture look appeals to me so I left them

I probably should have painted it first or something, but did not have the time. 

The box easily holds four chocolates so I ate two from the others and put the rest away for after!

I cut the hessian in half and wrapped one piece around the box, tieing it on with blue string. 

I tied a small blow but decided it did not look enough

So, I made a tag with the other piece of hessian and just tied the ribbon through the tag. 

I die cut the Thanks and added it - there is room then to write on the back of the tag. 

Hope this explained what I upcycled (or recycled) and why; it took about 30 minutes to put together, so I was pleased with the effect and the effort. 

Why not upcycle something yourself?

Enter it at Unstampabelles